How operators are changing their pre-travel packs for the restart of tourism

“As a luxury travel operator, we need to demonstrate that we’re thinking ahead about what people might want, and we are aware that a mask might give customers some peace of mind and reassurance,” explains Paul Cleary, managing director at Caribtours.

“We all need to be very mindful of people’s sensitivities as they start travelling again in these uncertain terms – any reassurance we can give will be welcome,” he adds.

Thinking of everything is something the operator prides itself on, with Cleary highlighting that even the black piping on the masks was carefully thought through – chosen over white piping to avoid stains from sun cream or tanning oils.

Caribtours has also amended the lead time on distributing travel documents, now delivering them by email six weeks before departure rather than three. This is to account for the new regulations in hotels, explains Cleary: “We are detailing what’s required island by island, hotel by hotel, in terms of what the exact protocols are, if they need a Covid-19 test and where they can get it etc, as we need to make sure customers are completely secure.”

“This is our new reality that a bit more thought and planning is required to go on holiday,” he says.

Colum McLornan, managing director at the small, solo traveller-specialist tour operator Friendship Travel, has also started gifting face masks to customers; along with 50ml bottles of hand sanitiser; a pen for filling out the new Covid-19 information forms many destinations are asking visitors to complete before entering the country; and a flyer detailing what to expect at the airport, on arrival, in the hotel, at group mealtimes (chairs will be spaced one metre apart), during excursions and on the return journey. In doing so, Friendship Travel has doubled the size of its pre-travel packs.

“It shows you’re a kind brand and that you’re considering the safety of your customers responsibly,” McLornan says. “There is an added cost but it should help you sell more and get things back to some sense of normality.”

KNOWLEDGE IS EVERYTHING

The five-strong team at Friendship Travel implemented the new policy after conversations with their customers – who are mostly in their late 40s and early 50s – revealed many of them were nervous about travelling while Covid-19 still poses a risk.

Initial responses to the new pre-travel packs have so far been beneficial to customer loyalty, with one Friendship Travel customer, Eileen Davies, getting in touch after reading the operator’s new flyer to say “enclosing face masks and hand sanitiser is a very kind and thoughtful thing to do”. She added that she is “not going on holiday this year but will be in May 2021 and booking shortly, so I will be in touch as soon as I have decided where.”

The solo traveller specialist is hoping to work with more travel agents in future, with McLornan predicting an increasing number of holidaymakers will look to book with agents for the security of their experience in booking travel.

“Travel agents are going to be more important now than they ever were before – customers are going to want to speak to someone with expert knowledge,” he says.

Caribtours’ Cleary agrees, reporting the Caribbean operator has seen a “significant pick-up” in business since late May and a boost in bookings from travel agents for January and February 2021.

He explains: “It’s difficult to know whether this is a post-coronavirus bounce or if there will be sustained growth, but now is the time to demonstrate the value of tour operators and travel agents – they have an opportunity to shine.”